Since early waking with no clear trigger often points to a Liver Blood/Yin or Heart Yin deficiency pattern in TCM (the mind isn't being anchored through the early morning hours), here's a self-acupressure protocol geared toward that:

Core points

HT7 (Shenmen) — on the wrist crease, in the hollow just below the pinky finger, on the little-finger side. Calms Shen (spirit/mind); the classic point for any insomnia pattern, especially waking with a restless or unsettled feeling.
SP6 (Sanyinjiao) — four finger-widths above the inner ankle bone, just behind the tibia. Nourishes Blood and Yin across Liver, Spleen, and Kidney — useful when early waking has no obvious cause, since it's often an underlying Yin deficiency.
KI3 (Taixi) — in the hollow between the inner ankle bone and the Achilles tendon. Tonifies Kidney Yin, which is classically implicated when someone wakes in the early hours (3–5am) without an external trigger.
LR3 (Taichong) — on the top of the foot, in the depression between the 1st and 2nd metatarsals. Anchors Hun (the ethereal soul housed in the Liver); a Hun that isn't well-rooted is a common TCM explanation for early-morning waking specifically, as opposed to trouble falling asleep.
PC6 (Neiguan) — two finger-widths above the inner wrist crease, between the tendons. Settles the Heart-mind, good paired with HT7.
Anmian (extra point) — behind the ear, midpoint between the mastoid process and GB20. Literally translates to "peaceful sleep," worth adding if the pattern feels heat-tinged (waking warm, restless, or with a racing pulse).

Suggested routine: HT7 + SP6 + KI3 as your base trio (30–60 seconds firm circular pressure each, bilateral), done about 30–60 minutes before bed. Add LR3 if you notice any irritability or tension alongside the early waking — that's a good marker for Liver involvement. Add Anmian if there's any heat/restlessness component.

Worth noting: SP6 is contraindicated in pregnancy, so skip it if that applies. If this has been going on for more than a few weeks, it may also be worth ruling out cortisol-related causes (early waking is a classic marker of elevated morning cortisol/stress-axis dysregulation even without felt anxiety) with a practitioner.

can you also suggest a point sequence for stress-related waking

For stress-driven waking, the pattern is usually Liver Qi stagnation — constrained emotional energy that either disturbs Shen directly or transforms into heat overnight (often the 1–3am Liver-time waking, sometimes with vivid or agitated dreams). The sequence below moves from releasing stagnation to calming Shen, which is the right order for this pattern rather than going straight to sedating points.

Sequence (evening, ~30–45 min before bed)

LR3 (Taichong) + LI4 (Hegu) — the "Four Gates." Work bilaterally, firm pressure, 1–2 minutes per side. This is the classic combo for moving constrained Liver Qi and defusing built-up tension before it has a chance to turn into heat. Do this first — trying to calm Shen before the stagnation is moved tends to be less effective.
GB34 (Yanglingquan) — in the depression anterior-inferior to the fibular head. Reinforces LR3 for Qi movement, especially good if the stress carries physical tension (jaw, shoulders, chest tightness).
GB20 (Fengchi) — the two hollows at the base of the skull, between the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid. Releases Liver Yang/tension held in the neck and clears the head; press up and in toward the eyes.
PC6 (Neiguan) — two finger-widths above the wrist crease, between the tendons. Addresses the chest oppression/constraint that Liver Qi stagnation often produces, and bridges into calming the Heart-mind.
HT7 (Shenmen) — wrist crease, pinky-side hollow. Anchors Shen once the Qi is moving again.
Yintang — between the eyebrows. Finish here, held statically for 1–2 minutes with slow breathing — settles the mind right before lying down.

If the stress pattern leans more toward heat (irritability, waking hot, headaches, red-tinged eyes), you can swap in LR2 (Xingjian) instead of or alongside LR3 — it drains Liver Fire more directly rather than just moving Qi. If it's more flat, deflated stress with fatigue (Liver Qi stagnation overacting on Spleen), add ST36 (Zusanli) at the end to support Spleen Qi rather than doing another calming point.